Divided We Fall
by Avirra
Summary: Captain Stanley is off on extended leave and a replacement Captain comes in with his own ideas of the type team he wants for Station 51's A Shift.  Will there be any pieces left to pick up when Hank returns?
1. Chapter 1

**Divided We Fall**

**Part I**

Captain Henry 'Hank' Stanley loved his job. He also felt a strong sense of responsibility toward the other five men that made up A Shift of Station 51. Sure, there were days where he might gladly throttle one or all of them for being such twits, but they were **his** twits. His close-knit crew was a well-oiled machine during an emergency, so a few squeaks now and then during their downtime were fine with him. Within reason, of course.

As such, he didn't tend to take a lot of time away from his men and his station, but one thing had made him arrange for an extended vacation. He and his wife were about to celebrate their fifteen wedding anniversary. Fifteen was Ellen's lucky number, so Hank had actually been planning this since their tenth anniversary.

Of course, extended vacation meant that his guys were going to have to deal with a temporary captain. Normally, that wouldn't have given Hank any qualms. More than one captain had said that they envied him his guys. But the replacement captain was going to be a total unknown. He was a seasoned captain though, so everything should be alright. A transplant from the East Coast who hadn't been assigned a permanent station yet, he was floating for now, filling in for injuries, sickness or, as in his case, personal leave. Captain Jackson Poole.

Captain Poole wasn't able to join Shift A until Hank's last day before heading off. Hank greeted him as he came in, taking in the man's rather stiff posture. He chalked that up to the new situation and went to introduce him to the guys.

As they came through the door, Chet was regaling Marco and Mike with some story or other that actually had a smile on the quiet engineer's face. Johnny and Roy were at the table reviewing a new procedure that Dr. Brackett was looking to implement over the next few weeks.

"Guys - come over here for a minute. This is Captain Jackson Poole. He's going to be filling in for me while I'm away. Captain Poole, this is Mike Stoker, our engineer - Marco Lopez and Chester Kelly, our linemen - Roy DeSoto and John Gage, our paramedics."

"Gage and DeSoto. Yeah, I've heard of you two."

Neither man commented, but Roy didn't care for the man's tone. He knew it wasn't just his imagination when Captain Stanley spoke up again.

"These guys are the best paramedic team out there."

"I heard that too."

The clearly unimpressed attitude bothered Hank, but he figured it would just take a few runs with the men and seeing them in action to change his mind. The shift was busy, but not ridiculously so and, at the end of it, Captain Poole just stood and watched as Captain Stanley and his crew said their goodbyes in their usual joshing manner.

It might have been just as well that Hank didn't own a crystal ball. He would have risked his wife's wrath and thrown five years worth of planning out of the window if he'd had any idea of the chaos he was about to unleash on his men.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part II**

On their first day with Poole as their captain, the men were called in one at a time for a conference with Poole. The first in was Mike. He came back out with a puzzled frown on his face, gave his anxious co-workers a small shrug, then headed out to his engine without a word.

Next one called in was Roy. If Mike's exit from the office had made everyone anxious, that was nothing compared to how Roy leaving the office made them feel. Roy - easy going, affable Roy - came out looking like he would gladly take a club to someone. Johnny would have gone after the passing storm that was his partner, but he was the next one called into the office.

It didn't take Johnny long to figure out at least part of what had Roy so pissed. Roy had put his heart and soul into the paramedic program. There probably wasn't another single individual that had put out the sheer amount of hours, stubbornness and determination to make the paramedic program into a reality. Poole considered paramedics to be a waste of the Fire Departments resources.

"It's sheer idiocy to spend the kind of money we do just so that some of you boys can play doctor. Not on my watch. Oh, you'll still be doing that job, of course. Much as I would like to eliminate it, for the moment, that's not my call. But you are a fireman first and a paramedic after all the real work is done. When you have to go to Rampart to restock or drop off a patient, no hanging around to keep an eye on a victim or to assist the medical staff. The second that the patient is through the doors of the hospital, they cease to be your concern. I won't have you men lollygagging around the hospital and fraternizing with the staff. Are we clear?"

"Yessir."

Johnny didn't trust himself to say more than that. Mentally, he was already counting the number of days they would have to put up with Poole until Hank came back.

"And Gage? Keep that partner of yours in line. He's looking for trouble and, by God, he's going to find it if he doesn't get with the program."

"Roy's no troublemaker, sir. He's -"

"No first names, Gage. I don't approve of the lax attitude Stanley let you men slide by with. I also don't approve of the use of 'Cap' that I heard my first day. You will call me either 'sir' or 'Captain Poole' at all times. Is that clear as well?"

"Yessir."

"Good. Dismissed."

Exiting the office, Johnny felt a lot like he had after his first earthquake. Stunned and a bit shell-shocked. He barely even acknowledged Chet and Marco as they watched him wander past on his way to find Roy. Marco was called in next, leaving a very fidgety Irishman waiting all alone.

It wasn't hard for Johnny to find Roy. He might not have exactly been slamming the doors on the squad, but he was closing them a lot more forcefully than usual. And for once, Johnny didn't even have to try to coax his partner into talking about it.

"Do you believe him? One of the first questions out of his mouth is if I pushed so hard to get the paramedic program going because I realized I couldn't cut it as a 'real' fireman. Oh - and I'm not 'properly dedicated' to the job because I have a wife and kids. And to top that all off - I can't even call my co-workers and friends by their first names. How long have we been partners now? And I have to call you Gage?"

Johnny shook his head in amazement. During the maybe five minutes that Captain Poole had spoken to Roy, he'd managed to hit every one of his partner's sensitive areas - his dedication to his job, the paramedic program, his civilian family and his firefighter family.

He could easily see where the situation between Roy and Poole could spiral out of control and tried to put a little water on that particular fire.

"Easy, partner. He's only here for a little while. Maybe if we consider putting up with him as sort of an anniversary present to Cap?"

That got a slight chuckle out of Roy.

"That might be the only way I get through this month. But you're right. We just have to bite the bullet until Cap comes home and then things can go back to normal."

Roy and Johnny turned their heads in unison as Marco stomped past on his way to splash cold water on his face. Roy sighed and let his forehead rest briefly against the side of the squad.

"It's going to be a loooooooong month, Junior."


	3. Chapter 3

**Part III**

As Chet watched Marco leaving the office, the thought ran briefly through his mind that if this were a cartoon, steam would be coming out of his friend's ears. He wished that Marco had hung around for at least a minute or two though. Right now, he felt like he was alone in a lion's cage at feeding time.

As expected since he was the only one left, he heard his name and entered the office.

"Close the door behind you, Kelly. Sit."

Poole narrowed his cold grey eyes at him while Chet consciously kept himself from squirming. After what felt like an eternity under the gaze, Poole finally spoke, tossing a folder over near Chet as he did.

"I've put together the papers that you'll need to fill out for requesting a transfer to another station. Have them back on my desk by the end of this rotation."

The folder wasn't touched, but Chet's eyes were on it as he tried to process what had just been said. He was, for once, speechless.

"That's all, Kelly. Dismissed."

The curt words broke through to him and Chet finally responded.

"Wait a minute, Captain."

"That's Captain Poole. Or sir. You will only address me that way. Understand?"

Chet hadn't felt as flustered since the last time he'd been screamed at by a nun back in high school. But he pulled himself together.

"Yessir. I understand. I just don't understand the folder. I don't want to transfer to another station."

"Of course you do. Why would you want to stay at a station where none of the other men can stand you? Transfer to a new area and get a fresh start."

Chet knew his mouth had dropped open, so he closed it and swallowed before speaking again.

"Sir?"

"Come on, man. I've spoken to the rest of the crew. Just because they're too polite to tell you to your face doesn't mean you aren't dragging the rest of the shift down. Still, I can't force you to request a transfer. But I can limit the damage. Stay away from the others. I don't want to see you talking to them unless it's work related. I will take action otherwise. Are we clear?"

There was a pause, then Chet gave a short nod.

"Yessir."

"Good. Get out of here and go to work. You have latrine duty. Permanently. Close the door behind you."

Chet got up and left quietly. He felt nauseous. Old insecurities flared up that he hadn't felt since he'd come to Station 51. He couldn't think of any reason Poole might have had it in for him, so maybe the guys really were tired of him, his jokes and his horror movies.

The silence was abnormally thick at the station. In less than an hour, Poole had managed to insult, offend and/or alienate every single man on A Shift. Worse, he'd made it uncomfortable for the men to even talk to one another.

They had the usual calls and dealt with them efficiently, but the interactions were more stiff than they normally were. Roy was keeping both his eyes and ears open. It didn't take long to notice that Chet was being shafted with all of the more disagreeable tasks at the scene. He also noticed how subdued the usually very animated man was being.

On the first run that required taking a victim to the hospital, Poole spelled out another set of new rules. Any patient that needed to be accompanied in the ambulance, Gage had to do it. Whoever drove the squad in, stayed with the squad and didn't enter the hospital. Even if the run was a supply run, that would be the rule. The driver would stay with the squad, the other would grab the supplies. It wasn't lost on Roy that Poole had basically just made the hospital off limits to him.

Of course, it didn't take very long at all for the staff at Rampart to notice. In fact, Dixie picked up on it immediately.

"Johnny? Where's your other half?"

Johnny gave a smirk at the way she referred to Roy, but that fell away as he looked to the doors.

"He's out in the squad waiting on me, Dix. I'd better get going."

"Nothing's wrong with Roy, I hope?"

"Nothing but our new Captain. He's really -"

Before Johnny could get out another word, his HT went off.

"Captain Poole is about to chew my ear off because we're still at Rampart, Gage."

"On my way, DeSoto."

Then he gave a sad sigh to Dix as he headed for the door.

"See what I mean?"

Dixie just stared. Gage? DeSoto? Frowning, she went to track down Joe. Something strange was going on at her favorite station and it didn't sound good.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part IV**

Johnny sighed as he climbed back into the squad. Roy's mood was hard to read right now, but one thing was for sure. His partner wasn't at all happy.

"Captain Queeg's not here, Roy. Talk to me before I have to start monitoring your blood pressure."

Roy took a deep breath then leaned his head back briefly before starting the squad.

"Sorry, Johnny. It's not you and you know it. It's him. Queeg? That's from that movie, right? If it's the one I'm thinking of, it fits."

"The Caine Mutiny. We were watching it on the television just before we got a call last month. You know, all the time Poole was talking to me I kept re-hearing that one line from the movie. _'There are four ways of doing things aboard my ship: The right way, the wrong way, the Navy way, and my way. They do things my way, and we'll get along.' _"

"That does sound like Poole's philosophy in a nutshell, Junior. Just substitute Fire Department for Navy."

As he drove, Roy glanced briefly over to Johnny. Seeming to make a decision, he cleared his throat.

"You'll need to try and keep things level for you, Mike and Marco until Cap gets back."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Mark my words, he has it in for Chester B and me. Me because he blames the paramedic program on me. Chet? I'm not sure why he has it in for Chet, but he does. If he can figure a way to be rid of us, he will be."

"Hey, don't you think you're being a little paranoid there, Roy? The guy's only a temp."

But even as he said that, the words Poole said to him replayed through Johnny's head. _'He's looking for trouble and, by God, he's going to find it if he doesn't get with the program.' _Okay, so maybe Roy wasn't just being paranoid.

"I know that he's a temp and you know that he's a temp. I don't think he knows that. Or if he does, I don't think he plans on this position staying temporary. He said some pretty unflattering things about Cap in front of me and, so far as I know, he just met Cap for the first time when we were all introduced."

Fingers drumming on the dash, Johnny just gave a slight nod.

"Now that you mention it, he said something to me about Cap's lax attitude with us. You think he's trying to show Cap up so he can replace him?"

"I do. After all, if he thinks I don't show the proper dedication to the job because I have a wife and kids, I can't imagine he thinks any higher of Cap's dedication. Especially since he's taken off time for his anniversary."

"Yeah, I guess you've got that right. Oh, Dixie was asking about you. She was worried that something was wrong when you didn't come in."

"She's right about that. Something's wrong. Sorry by the way. I didn't mean to snap at you over the handset. It's just -"

"I know. Poole."

"I wonder if part of the problem is where he's from. I heard the B Shift Captain say that Poole is from Delaware."

"So?"

"So, the population of L.A. alone is probably over six times the population of the entire state of Delaware. Maybe he's on the offense because he feels like he has to make his mark in an area this big?"

"Maybe. But even if that's true, knowing it doesn't help our situation with him."

They were almost back to the station and fell silent, both grateful that their shift was almost over. Not over soon enough though. The second the squad was parked, Poole was yelling.

"DeSoto! Office! Now!"

Roy took a deep breath and gave Johnny a brief look as he spoke softly under his breath.

"Wish me luck, Junior. I'm going to need it."

Johnny watched until Roy disappeared behind the door, then headed for the latrine. The first thing he noticed was the strong scent of bleach. To his surprise, Chet was in there, cleaning the walls. Again. He knew for a fact that Chet had already cleaned the area once when they'd started their shift.

"Chet? What's up?"

It roused Johnny's concern that Chet looked over at him, but didn't say anything. Especially since Chet's eyes were showing signs of irritation. Putting aside his original reason for coming in, Johnny moved over to check Chet out.

"You need to go outside for a few minutes and fill your lungs with some fresh air, Chet. I think you've inhaled a few too many bleach fumes and this area isn't what you'd call well ventilated."

Chet didn't argue with him or even speak to him as Johnny led him out behind the station and had him sit down. Some of B Shift were arriving by now and their newest paramedic, Walter Cessna, came out, speaking softly to keep his voice from carrying.

"Is there a problem?"

Johnny looked over to his fellow paramedic.

"Nothing too bad. Chester B here just stayed in with bleach fumes a little too long for his health."

Glancing back toward the building, Walter nodded.

"I'll bet, but you might want to get back inside. Sounded like Poole was almost finished yelling at your partner, Gage."

"He's yelling at Roy? Aw, man."

Hearing that, Chet just took another deep breath of fresh air then got up and headed back for the latrine again. Walter waited until Chet was out of hearing range before he spoke again,

"Gage? What's going on? You and DeSoto used to be tight."

That got Johnny's back up.

"What do you mean used to be?"

But before Johnny got an answer, Walter's partner yelled out from the door.

"Walt! Role call!"

Johnny continued to sit. He wanted to get that answer from Walter, but just as role call was concluding, the tones sounded and the squad was called out. Since there was no telling how long they'd be gone, Johnny gave up and headed for his locker.

Everyone else from his crew seemed to be gone already. Sighing, Johnny opened his locker. It wasn't that long ago that they would have all been in here, changing and joking at the end of a shift. And then some or all of them would have headed to the local diner together for a quick snack before they all went their separate ways. Now? Now it was like none of them could get out of here fast enough. And even Mike had stopped coming in as early as he normally did.

Changing clothes, Johnny could hardly believe all the changes in just the short amount of time that Hank had been gone. Chet was another of those changes. While he admittedly had complained on more than one occasion that it was impossible to shut Chet up, he was finding he had to think back to remember the last time that Chet had spoken to him. He looked miserable too. That couldn't just be from latrine duty. It was a running joke on the shift about how often Chet ended up with that job. Maybe he should encourage Chet to go see a doctor.

As he climbed into his Rover, Johnny thoughts turned again to what Walter had said. For a moment, he thought about driving to Roy's house, but he knew Roy's was exhausted and probably just wanted to crawl into bed. Starting up the Rover, he headed for home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part V**

While Johnny was right about Roy being exhausted, he wasn't sleeping yet. He was sitting, sharing coffee with Joanne while he tried to express the mess he found himself in. Part of him just wanted to keep it all inside, but after the strides he and Joanne had made overcoming the lack of straightforward communication between them, he didn't want to backslide into old habits.

"Poole had me so irritated that I didn't even try to find Johnny to tell him goodbye. I was afraid I'd say something wrong after Poole yelled for so long about how I needed to be more like Johnny. Don't get me wrong, I mean, you know I love John like a brother, but having him held up to me as someone that I need to pattern myself after?"

Joanne got up to stand behind Roy, laying her hands on his shoulders and trying to kneed them. It felt like she was trying to massage a block of marble.

"Roy, I don't think I've ever felt you this tense. This is more than a bruise to your ego."

"You think this is about my ego, Jo?"

There was an undertone to Roy's voice and she knew that had hurt him. Still, she pressed a bit more.

"I'm sure that's nowhere near all of it, Roy. But you've always been the senior partner. You were one of the one that taught Johnny, for goodness sake. It's perfectly natural that it would bother you that Poole is suggesting that Johnny's better than you are."

She gave up trying to loosen his shoulders and leaned over to kiss his head.

"What else is going on, Roy? You couldn't even eat more than a bite or two."

"It's . . . everything, Jo. You barely even know Chet's around. I thought Mike was quiet before, but now he's almost non-existent and even Marco is keeping all to himself. We aren't even a team any more. We're five guys that are working in the same place at the same time. How could that all fall apart so fast? I'm dreading when we have to go back in."

The last sentence made Jo catch her breath. She'd envied the way Roy was always anxious to head to work. Seeing that spark trying to die tore at her. It also made her realize something.

"Roy? Sweetheart, maybe it's because I'm on the outside looking in, but I don't think you guys have fallen apart. It sounds more like Poole is deliberately tearing you all apart. Do you know what Poole said to the others?"

The cup stopped part way to Roy's mouth as her words hit a chord.

"No. Nobody came out of that office in the mood to talk to anyone else. Oh, I ended up venting to Johnny, but come to think of it, he didn't tell me hardly anything about what he and Poole talked about."

Nodding to herself, Joanne went over to the living room phone, unplugged it and then replugged it into the jack near the table where they were sitting.

"Call Mike. I'll bet no-one else on your shift is getting any sleep either. Reach out, Roy. If Mike tells you that you're imagining things, then we can relook at things and see if maybe you're taking some things too personally. But I don't think that's what Mike is going to tell you."

He only hesitated for a minute before pulling out his wallet where he kept the contact numbers for everyone in their crew. It only took two rings before the phone was picked up.

_"Hello?"_

"Mike, this is Roy. I didn't wake you, did I?"

_"No, not at all. What's up?"_

"I guess I'll get right to the point. Captain Poole has me uneasy and - well - I was wondering if you might tell me what you and he talked about. If you want to, of course."

There was a long pause. Long enough that Roy began to worry that he might have said something the wrong way. But then Mike spoke again.

_"I want to. But not over the phone. I'm too wiped to drive safely right now though."_

"I know. I'm too tired to drive safely myself. Wait a minute."

Picking up on what Mike must have said from Roy's end of the conversation, Joanne had motioned to get his attention.

"Both of you might have a better chance of sleeping after you talk. If Mike doesn't mind, I could drive you to his apartment."

Roy relayed Joanne's offer over to Mike and Mike agreed immediately.

_"Roy? Do you think we should see if the other guys want to talk? I'm alright with being the meeting place."_

"That sounds good actually. I'll give Johnny a call before we leave if you don't mind calling Marco and Chet."

_"Will do. See you when you get here."_

After finishing his call with Mike, Roy dialed Johnny's number. He let it ring for awhile before giving up. Johnny was either soundly asleep or out in a park perched on one of his favorite 'thinking rocks'. Hanging up the phone, Roy went to get ready while Jo made a quick call to make arrangement for the kids.

Just before she picked up the car keys, Joanne found herself captured in a hug from behind. The _'thank you'_ that was softly whispered in her ear made her realize just how much this meeting was needed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part VI**

By the time Joanne drove to Stoker's apartment, Marco was already there, but Mike hadn't been able to reach Chet. Joanne left Roy there after Mike said he would make sure Roy got back home after they all grabbed a nap. Knowing that they wouldn't be likely to speak freely with her there, she agreed.

Roy nodded to Marco and Mike, taking the offered seat. There was a long, awkward silence. Roy cleared his throat and broke it.

"Well, guys. I guess since I made the first call, I should be the one to start. That first morning when Poole was calling us in all one at a time? Basically, he doesn't like anything about me. I'm married, so I'm not dedicated. I'm a paramedic, so I'm not a real firefighter. I was one of the ones that pushed for the paramedic program, so I'm responsible for the wasting of the Fire Department's resources. In a later talk, he started telling me that I should considered modeling my behavior after Johnny's."

Sighing, Roy slumped in his seat in a very uncharacteristic way as Mike and Marco stared at him. They both liked Johnny and respected his abilities, but Roy's was overwhelmingly the calmer and steadier influence.

"Either of you come off any better?"

Marco just shook his head.

"I don't think he likes having someone of Mexican descent in the crew. Not that he's going to put it that way, of course. But he specifically told me that he didn't want to hear me using any Spanish and when it's my time to cook, he doesn't want me doing anything Mexican or even Tex-Mex."

"Man, that stinks. Your chili is one meal I always look forward to. Not to mention those couple of Spanish phrases you taught me have really helped me a lot in the field."

"I can't imagine having to go without your chili either."

"Thanks, amigos. At least I call you guys that here. What happened with you, Mike?"

Mike looked very uncomfortable and put off answering for a minute by offering to get iced tea or cold water for everyone. Both Roy and Marco accepted the tea, then just patiently waited for Mike. Mike generally wasn't much of a talker, but it was obvious he had something to say that he didn't care for.

"You remember I was the first one he called in? First thing he tells me is that, as engineer, he considered me his second in command. Which, you know, I am for Cap, so no big deal, right? Then he told me what he expected out of his second in command."

Frowning, Mike reached for his own glass of iced tea, staring at the condensation on the glass for a minute before taking a sip.

"My orders are to basically report every infraction of his new 'rules' that you guys aren't following - with instructions to pay closest attention to DeSoto and Kelly. Including every time you guys call each other by anything other than your last names. So really what he wants is a shift tattle-tale."

Marco muttered something under his breath, then looked up to his friend.

"That's why you've been keeping yourself apart from us as much as you can, isn't it?"

"If I don't hear anything, I'm not caught having to decide between my teammates and our current Captain's orders."

Sitting back and sipping his tea, Roy thought over what the others had just said.

"Okay, I know what he has against me, but why Chet?"

"I don't know, Roy. I got a feeling though that the Phantom has something to do with it because he referred to Chet as a joker. And it didn't sound like he approved of jokers on his crew. Maybe if we can talk to Chet, he knows."

"I don't know that Chet will speak to us. Whatever Poole said to him got him really upset. I couldn't even get him to make a stop with me for a sandwich after work. This can't keep going on, but what can we do?

"I don't know that there's anything that we can do, Marco. The guy's unpleasant and is making things uncomfortable, but he's not actually broken any department policy that I can think of. And believe me, I've been trying to think of them."

"Me too, Roy."

"All three of us then."

They all went quiet then, thinking. It was so quiet that Roy and Marco both jumped a bit when Mike put his glass down suddenly and left the room. They exchanged glances, but Marco just shrugged to indicate he was as much at a loss for what was going on as Roy was.

Mike returned in short order with paper and a pen for each of them.

"Okay - are we all in agreement that Poole seems to have it in for some of us and might not be above forcing the issue?"

At the nods of the other two, Mike continued.

"At this moment, none of us have a disciplinary action against us from him. All of us write down what he said to us and what we've observed up until now, signed and dated. We'll seal them in an envelope and I'll put that into another envelope and send it to Chief McConakee, with a note about what we've done and why."

Marco gave a slow nod.

"I think I see what you're saying. That way if Poole does start taking this to another level, he can't say we started making this stuff up just because we got mad that he disciplined us."

"Right. And I'll make mention that the only reason Gage and Kelly don't have a statement in here is that we couldn't get in touch with them today."

"I do believe you have something here, Mike. Chief McConakee might not like it, but I think it's better than doing nothing and just hoping we can outlast Poole until Cap gets back."

They all sat down and wrote out their own interactions with Poole, then watched as Mike gathered them all together and sealed them in an envelope. Then he wrapped his note to the Chief around it before sticking it into another envelope and addressing it.

"My recliner and couch are open, guys. I'll grab some blankets. After we nap, I'll mail this when I run Roy home."

"Thanks, Mike. I just wish Johnny and Chet had been here. Espcially Chet. I'm worried about him."

"I think we all are, Roy."


	7. Chapter 7

**Part VII**

While driving to his place, Johnny thoughts went back to Chet again. It occurred to him that no-one else on their shift even knew that Chet had had a problem. And Chet lived alone. The more Johnny thought about it, the less he like the fact that nobody might see or check-in with Chet on their days off. Finally admitting to himself that he wasn't going to get any sleep until he checked on him, Johnny altered his route to take him to Chet's apartment.

As it turned out, Johnny didn't have to go that far. He saw what appeared to be Chet's car pulled off the road near a small park. Johnny pulled up and parked himself. It only took him a moment to confirm that it was Chet's car, so he started walking around to look for his co-worker.

It didn't take him too long to find him. There was a large tree that was circled by a bench. Chet was sitting on it, back against the tree trunk with his eyes closed. There was also a folder by his side. Seemed like an odd thing to bring into a park, but Johnny thought a lot of things that Chet did were on the odd side.

Johnny wasn't sure for a minute if Chet was awake or not, but as he got closer, Chet's eyes opened. They were still very obviously irritated as they narrowed in recognition as he saw Johnny. When he spoke a moment later, it became clear that his eyes weren't the only thing irritated. Chet's voice was very husky.

"Gage? What are you doing here?"

The roughness of his voice worried Johnny, but the tone of the question confused him. Chet sounded a little annoyed and very puzzled. Johnny suddenly felt a bit embarassed for following Chet, but his concern trumped that.

"I was headed to your place and saw your car over here. Are you alright?"

"Why were you headed to my place?"

"I wanted to check on you, You didn't answer my question, man. Are you alright?"

"I will be. If they give you a boot, don't let Poole ride him too hard, okay?"

The last sentence was one too many for his sore throat and he started coughing. When he got up, Johnny could see the reason Chet had picked this place to sit - there was a water fountain nearby. Johnny eyes narrowed. Swallowing obviously was at least a little painful.

"Chet? I'd feel better if you'd let me take you in to Rampart. And why are you talking about a boot?"

Moving back over to the bench, Chet laid his hand down on the folder. He didn't address the comment about Rampart.

"Transfer request."

Glancing down at the folder, Johnny stared at it for a minute, then shook his head in dismay.

"You want to leave 51?"

"No. Can we not talk about this? My throat is kind of bothering me."

"Yeah, I can see that. Come on. I mean it, you should really see a doctor. I'll take you to Rampart. I think Dr. Early's on. Bleach fumes aren't too bad in moderation, but if you get too many of them, it can lead to some nasty side effects."

There was a hesitation, but Chet finally threw up his hands.

"Fine. Whatever."

He picked up the folder and followed Johnny back to where their vehicles were parked and looked a bit exasperated that Johnny wanted to drive him. But to avoid arguing, Chet just tossed the folder onto his own passenger seat, then locked up his car and climbed into the Rover's passenger seat. He didn't say so much as another word on the drive to Rampart.

When they arrived, Johnny had to remind himself to park in the parking lot, but he still walked Chet in through the emergency entrance. It was where he knew everyone and where he was most likely to find Dr. Early.

The first one that he found was Dixie. Or more correctly, she spotted them.

"John? Is something wrong?"

"It's Chet here, Dix. I think he inhaled way too many bleach fumes than was healthy for him. Is Dr. Early around?"

"Sure thing - I'll page him. Take Chet into treatment room three."

Johnny steered Chet toward the treatment rooms that he knew as well as he knew his way around the station. He had just gotten Chet to climb up onto the examination table when Dr. Early came in with Dixie close behind.

"Kelly, isn't it? Let's take a good look at you. About how long were you around the fumes?"

"Any time we weren't out on a call, really. So most of the shift."

That earned a raised eyebrow and a disapproving look toward Johnny.

"This happened at the station?"

Johnny held his hands up in a defensive gesture.

"Sure did, doc. But I didn't know anything about it until near the end of our shift. When I got a look at his eyes, I had him go out back to the open air."

"Good. So, what strength bleach are we talking about? Household or industrial?"

"Industrial."

"Diluted?"

"Full strength."

"Well, that certainly explains a lot. Open your mouth and let me see how much damage you've done."

Flashing his light inside and taking a good look at the irritated membranes, he called out orders to Dixie.

"Well, not good, but thankfully not as bad as I was afraid it might have been. Let's set up some humified oxygen therapy. You're a little dehydrated too. Probably because it hurts to swallow? Just shake your head or nod. Try not to talk more than you have to for now."

Chet just nodded. Even the little he'd spoken to answer the questions had left his throat feel raw.

"Alright, you'll be staying with us a little while, but if everything goes as I expect it will, only for a few hours. I'm going to start an IV as well to help with the hydration issue since you'll be stuck here for the oxygen therapy anyway. And I'll give you a little something in that for the discomfort. John? Are you going to be around awhile? I'd like to talk to you if you have the time."

"Sure. I guess I'll be staying until Chet's ready to go. I drove him in."

"Good. I'll be right back with you after we get Kelly all set up."

Johnny followed along to see what room Chet was going to be in. He hesitated, but then made the call to Station 51 to let the B Shift Captain know that Chet was being worked on since the incident happened at work and would need to be in the reports. Once that was done, he looked at the phone again before repicking it up and dialing Roy's number.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part VIII**

The phone only rang a couple of times before it was picked up. He knew the voice immediately.

"Hi, Kimmy. Is your Dad awake?"

"Daddy's not home right now, Uncle Johnny. Mom! It's Uncle Johnny!"

He winced a little as Kim forgot to take the phone away from her mouth before yelling for her mother. There was a little clattering as Kimmy dropped the phone onto the table top, then Joanne picked it up.

"Johnny, it's good to hear from you. Roy was trying to call you earlier but you weren't home."

"I still haven't made it home, Joanne. I'm at the hospital and -"

"Hospital? Johnny, what's wrong? Was there an accident? Are you alright?"

"Easy, Joanne - easy! I'm fine. Honest. I drove Chet here for a checkup. Hey, why was Roy trying to call me?"

"He's over at Mike Stoker's right now. He was wanting you to go there with him. Do you have the number? Wait - you took Chet to the hospital? Our Chet?"

Even with the current situation, Johnny couldn't help but chuckle at the way Joanne referred to Chet.

"Yes, our Chet. He took in too many cleaning fumes. Dr. Early has him on some sort of oxygen therapy. We'll be here for a couple of hours at least. Tell you what. When I get off the phone with you, I'll call Mike's and give them both an update."

"Thanks, Johnny. I know Roy will appreciate it. Chet won't be kept overnight?"

"Not if everything goes according to plan."

"Give me a call and then bring him over when they release him. I'll make dinner for everyone. You'll be too tired to cook and I doubt he'll feel like it either after a day at the hospital."

"Sounds good. Oh - you might want to gear it to something easy to swallow. He's got a really sore throat right now."

"Something on the creamy side. I think I can manage that. I'll see you later, Johnny."

"Right, Joanne. Thanks."

Digging out his own list of crew member numbers, Johnny dialed the phone again. The sleepy voice didn't surprise him. The fact that it wasn't Mike's voice did.

"Marco?"

"Johnny? Hey, amigo - why are you calling my house?"

Obviously Marco wasn't quite awake yet.

"I'm not calling your house, Marco - I'm calling Mike's house."

There was a silence then something muttered before Marco spoke up again.

"Guess you're right. I forgot where I feel asleep at."

"I'm glad you're there actually. Are Roy and Mike nearby?"

"Roy's on the recliner half-awake, Mike's in his bedroom. Why? What's up?"

"I wanted to let you guys know that Chet's at Rampart -"

As with Kim, Johnny winced as Marco yelled into the phone.

"What? What happened to Chet?"

That had Roy blinking and waking rapidly as well as getting Mike's attention. It took a few more minutes to get the story across and straight. As soon as they determined between them that Marco was in the best shape to drive, they said they be headed out to join Johnny at Rampart as soon as possible.

Johnny had just hung up the phone when Dr. Early caught up with him.

"Come on into my office, John. Coffee?"

"I hadn't intended being up this long, doc, so I wouldn't turn it down."

They stopped by just long enough to each grab a cup of the fortunately fairly fresh pot. Once they were in his office and seated, Dr. Early sat his cup down on his desk for a minute.

"Dixie's with Chet right now. And she was mentioning something to me the other day about things at your station. Is everything alright between you and Roy?"

"Oh for... **nothing** is wrong between me and Roy. What is up with everybody thinking we have a problem?"

"Speculation runs wild when certain questions get asked. And when the other units with paramedics get feelers as to whether or not they'd take Roy in on a transfer? Well, the Fire Department's not going to bust up the best paramedic team out there without a reason and the first thing that comes to mind is that you and Roy aren't getting along any more."

"Roy's not put in for a transfer. That's craz -"

The way Johnny stopped mid-sentence definitely had Dr. Early's attention.

"What is it, John?"

"Chet. Chet had a folder with him and he said it was a transfer request. Chet's not really the folder type, y'know? He'd be more likely to stuff paperwork in his back pocket. Aw man."

"I'm afraid I'm not following you, John."

"It's our temporary Captain. I'm thinking that maybe he gave that folder to Chet. He doesn't like Roy either. I wonder if he's been pressing Roy to transfer out?"

Johnny then went into what Captain Poole had told him about what his opinion was on the paramedic program and how he'd said that Roy had only pushed for the program because he couldn't cut it as a real fireman. Johnny also told the doctor about the new rules that Poole had instituted to put as many limits on their interaction with Rampart as he could.

By the time Johnny had finished, Dr. Early looked about as irritated as Johnny could ever remember seeing the man.

"Does Kel know anything about this?"

"I doubt it. One thing we were specifically told was not to fraternize with you guys."

"Fraternize? This Poole character does know that we're all on the same side, doesn't he?"

"No, I honestly don't think that he thinks we are. I think he'd be perfectly happy if we just loaded victims into the ambulance and that was the end of it for us."

"I see. Johnny, thanks for filling me in. Why don't you go on and check on Kelly? I'll be back in there in around an hour to see how he's responding to the therapy."

"Right. Thanks for the coffee."

Once Johnny had left and the door was shut again, Dr. Early picked up his phone.

"Kel? I didn't wake you, did I? Good. Sorry to call you at home, but there are a couple of things going on that I think you need to be aware of,"


	9. Chapter 9

_Just as an FYI note, the Hazardous Material labeling that is required today on chemical products like industrial bleach did not exist back in the days __Emergency__ was on the air. Any cautions on materials prior to that were pretty much up to the manufacturer._

* * *

><p><strong>Part IX<strong>

Johnny had seen it in action before so he knew what was up the second he stepped into the door of Chet's room. Dixie was in full out mad mother hen mode. For Chet's part, it looked like he was sleeping. How anyone could sleep with that contraption over their face was beyond Johnny's comprehension. They always made him feel claustrophobic.

He took his chances and came further in to get a better look at Chet. It was weird how the guy always looked like an over-sized kid when he was asleep. Well, an over-sized kid with a cheesy moustache. That thought didn't have long to gel in his head before Dixie had come over, taken hold of his arm and nearly drug him out into the hallway.

"What the devil is going on over at 51, John?"

In all honesty, Johnny didn't know if it was great or lousy timing that Roy, Mike and Marco came into sight just then. Probably great for him and lousy for them because Dixie expanded her focus from Johnny to include them as well.

"Chet's sleeping at the moment. All of you. Lounge. Now."

Mike and Marco seriously looked ready to bolt, but Roy just headed for the lounge. He knew Dixie's tone – it was the one that accepted no arguments. Johnny just followed after Roy and motioned to the other two.

"I wouldn't try it. She's fast in those rubber soled shoes."

Marco didn't look quite sure if Johnny was joking or not, but Mike started for the lounge and Marco fell in behind him.

"Alright guys. What's going on? You've always been one of the tightest knit crews out there. What's unraveled everything?"

Roy took the lead and answered her.

"It's not a what, Dix. It's a who. Our current captain."

Marco looked over to Johnny.

"He's what we were all meeting about. He's been undermining us. And we let him."

Mike's expression was firm.

"That stops now."

Those three words pleased Dixie immensely.

"Glad to hear that. One other thing I want to hear. Any of you four tell Poole that Chet was the weak link in your crew?"

The expressions on their faces pretty much answered that. Johnny was the first to recover enough to speak.

"Chet's jokes are pretty lame, but he's one of the best linemen out there. And his name never even came up when he talked to me. He just told me to –"

Johnny's voice trailed off then as he realized what he was about to say. Roy saw Johnny's eyes cut over to him.

"Spit it on out, Junior. I'm guessing it was about me?"

Flushing a little, Johnny nodded.

"Yeah. It was. He told me to keep you in line because you were looking for trouble."

Dixie mouth opened slightly in surprise at that. Roy just smirked a little.

"That figures. You're supposed to be my role model, you know."

That got Johnny staring at Roy in pure disbelief.

"Holy cow. And I didn't want to say anything to you because you were already pretty hot at the Captain."

"And I didn't want to say anything to you because I was afraid it would come out wrong and you'd feel insulted."

Marco shook his head.

"Divide and conquer. Guy's been playing us. Dixie? Did Chet say anything else?"

"A little, but I think you boys need to have a sit down with all of you together and get all the facts straight. I will tell you one thing though. The first thing you need to do is to let him know that you aren't just tolerating him to be polite."

Marco literally slapped his forehead.

"No wonder Chet been making excuses not to get together. Mi Dios."

Then he glanced over to Mike with a wry expression.

"That one didn't count. We're off duty."

Dixie literally groaned.

"Let me guess. Anti-Spanish as well?"

"Anti-Spanish, anti-marriage, anti-paramedic, anti-fraternizing. It's figuring out what he's pro that seems to be the trick here, Dix."

That said, Roy looked back toward the door.

"Mike's right. This has to stop and that means Chet needs to tell us what Poole said to him. Although I think we have an idea, we need to hear what it actually was from him. We all need to be up front about it to keep any more barriers from being shoved between us."

"Where's is this man from?"

"Delaware, from what I was told by another captain, Dix."

"He's probably used to a lot higher doctor to patient ratios than we have in this city. Not that that excuses his attitudes toward the paramedic department. Tell you boys what. Let Chet's oxygen therapy go a little longer – until Joe comes back and reexamines him. Then I'll see about getting him something to soothe his throat so he can talk without so much discomfort."

Dixie consulted her watch.

"Why don't the four of you head down to the cafeteria? Shouldn't be many people there at this time. Just give us about an hour before you come back up. I'll give Chet the heads up that you'll be coming to see him."

An hour later, they came back to Chet's room to find not only were Dr. Early and Dixie there, but Dr. Brackett as well. Chet was awake, but looking uncomfortable at the gathering around him. Dr. Brackett wanted to hear directly from Roy and Johnny what had been said about both the paramedic program and interactions with the hospital staff. But he agreed that could wait for a few minutes and they left to give the crew some privacy to talk.

It took a little prodding, but they finally got Chet to open up and tell them what Poole said to him. Even with what they already suspected, they were all shocked that Poole had started out by having transfer papers there ready to be filled out.

Roy laid a hand on Chet's shoulder.

"None of us want to get rid of you, Chet."

Chet's eyes went straight to Johnny, who shook his head.

"I might occasionally be tempted to strangle you, Chester, but that doesn't mean I want to get rid of you."

Marco sat on the edge of Chet's bed.

"Why would you believe him?"

"What? Think that maybe Captain Stanley had told you guys to just put up with me?"

Chet paused then as if unsure whether to say anything else. Then he fiddled with his blanket, not looking at any of them as he shrugged.

"Wouldn't be the first time that sort of thing has happened to me."

Roy didn't seem very shocked by that admission. He'd always had a suspicion that Chet's antics and bluster were as much as cover-up as they were a personality trait (it was amazing the insights hanging around those under the age of ten on a daily basis could give a guy). Johnny was flat-out shocked though and, as usual for him, what he was thinking was as evident on his face as a ketchup stain on a white shirt. Mike didn't say anything, but moved closer to the bed to give Chet a supportive nudge. Marco just patted his friend's leg.

"We all have our quirks, amigo. But for all of yours, you're still one of us. I trust my back to you every day and I hope you trust me with yours."

"You know I do, Marco. Heck, all of you guys have helped pull my bu – err, bacon out of messes."

"You've done the same for all of us. We've all been there for each other. Even before Captain Stanley came."

Mike cleared his throat a little self-consciously before speaking.

"If any of you ever wonder if I said anything to the Captain, just ask me. I won't say anything about anyone to him that I wouldn't say to your face."

"Sounds like a good thing for us all to agree to with each other. I, for one, am tired of being played."

"You aren't the only one, Junior."

When they noticed through the window that the five men had all visibly relaxed, Dr. Brackett put his head back in.

"Roy – John? Good time for that meeting now?"

Johnny's lop-sided smile spoke for all of them.

"Yeah. We're good in here now."


	10. Chapter 10

**Part X**

As they headed into the office with Drs. Brackett and Early, Johnny was a little puzzled by Roy's rather pensive outloook. Something was definately still eating at his partner and he wasn't sure what that something was.

One at a time, they each relayed what Poole had said to them personally about the paramedic program as well as the newer rules the had been added about only one of them being allowed inside the hospital at a time and the part about their responsibilities ending after the patient came through the door.

After listening carefully to everything, Dr. Brackett looked over at Roy. The two of them had worked closely enough together that he could generally read the senior member of his top team pretty well. He just quirked a half-smile.

"You see the same problem I do, don't you, Roy?"

"I think we're on the same page, yes."

Head turning to look from one to the other, Johnny frowned.

"I don't even think I have a copy of the same book you guys have."

Dr. Early chuckled from where he was standing and reached over to give Johnny's shoulder a pat.

"Don't feel bad. I didn't get a copy either, John. How about a fill-in, Kel?"

"Thing is? This Captain Poole hasn't said things in front of more than one of you at a time on the items that could be considered - inflammatory."

The groan coming from Johnny's chair showed he was seeing what they were now.

"Our word against his and no witness that heard the same thing we did."

Roy added to that.

"Same thing goes for what happened with Chet. We didn't hear the Captain's instructions to him with the clean-up, so he could deny it or even say that Chet just misunderstood what he actually meant."

Johnny raised his hands and just let them flop down into his lap.

"So we're stuck."

Dr. Early crossed his arms, thinking.

"Partially? Yes. I think Kel could stop the restrictions regarding the two of you here at Rampart. After all, as paramedics, you report to him as well. That's not much, granted, but now that we all know what's going on, we can keep a closer eye on things. You two and the other three feel solid together again?"

Johnny looked over to Roy and they both nodded to that.

"Maybe this Poole guy is one of those that feels he has to push to find out what his peoples' limits are. Could be that once he sees you all have one another's backs that he'll be satisfied and back off."

None of the other three really bought into that line of thinking, but Roy just nodded.

"Well, we can always hope for the best, right?"

Dr. Brackett leaned forward over his desk.

"I'll call and have a talk with your Captain when your shift comes back on. Talk to him about making sure about precautions are being observed with cleaning materials and about hospital access for the two of you. I won't mention we've talked. Dixie had already mentioned that only one of you was coming in at a time to me so I'll approach it from that angle."

Dr. Brackett might have known Roy in some ways, but Johnny knew his partner even better. And he knew that smile that Roy was currently sporting was as fake as the 'leather' on the chair he was sitting in. But fake or not, Roy's tone sounded cheerful enough when he spoke.

"Thanks. Dr. Early? Is Chet clear to go now? Joanne wants to feed him and she hates to keep dinner waiting too long."

"Sure. He just needs to take it easy and not try swallowing anything too spicy or rough for the next few days while his throat finishes healing."

As they left Brackett's office to go back to Chet's room, Johnny cast a glance over to his partner and spoke softly.

"Dr. Early's being a bit over-optomistic, isn't he?"

"Well, that's the way he is. Have you have seen him get angry, Johnny? Irritated and annoyed, yes. But not angry. The man is a Pollyanna."

"A Polly-who?"

"Pollyanna. Book about a little orphaned girl who makes in a habit to try and see the best in everything and everyone. Ask Kim nicely and she might loan you her copy."

"Huh. Well, I might just do that, Smarty."

"Hey, I've read it. It's not a bad way to spend an afternoon."

Johnny chuckled at that, then went quiet for a minute before sighing.

"Roy? You think Brackett calling is going to make things worse, don't you?"

"Like tossing a bucket of ice water on a cat that's already mad, Junior. Man, look at the time. Let's stop and give Jo a call to let her know we're on our way."

"Well, at least the condemned will get a good meal first."


	11. Chapter 11

**Part XI**

Mike had just as pessimistic an outlook as Roy did over how he thought Poole would take Brackett's call. But they all agreed that the call needed to be made even so. Marco tried to look at it philosophically.

"We'll just have to ride out the storm. Luckily, there are five of us to do the bailing."

The beginning of their next rotation started quietly enough, though all of them involuntarily flinched every time that the phone rang. The tones going off was almost a relief. The call was for the squad only though, so only Roy and Johnny got a break from the tension.

When they pulled back in, Mike was discretely in their sight range. With his left hand, he made a slicing motion at neck height before returning to polishing the engine. They winced in unison. The call must have come in while they were gone.

As he had suspected would happen, Roy was only halfway out of the squad when the Captain's voice called out.

"DeSoto! Office! Now!"

As Roy headed there while Johnny watched with a concerned expression, Mike spoke very softly to him without stopping his polishing.

"We're not supposed to talk to each other anymore unless it's strictly work related. Watch yourself. We're all going to meet up at the diner when the shift ends."

"Right. Good idea."

Roy still hadn't emerged from the office a half-hour later. Then the tones sounded and finally brought an end to the 'meeting'. It was a full station run to a small shopping center. Captain Poole's newest twist threw everyone off. Instead of Roy and Johnny doing the sweep as usual, Poole teamed Marco with Johnny, sending the two of them for the main sweep while Roy and Chet were teamed on the hose.

It was idiotic use of their manpower, but what really worried Johnny about it was that he and Marco simply didn't have the rhythm together that he and Roy did. And he'd be willing to bet Roy and Chet were having the same problem. The sweep took more than twice as long as it would normally have. In this case, it didn't cause problems, but if the fire had been more intense or if more victims had been involved? The story could have been very different.

It was fortunate there were only two minor smoke-inhalation cases because, of course, Johnny was forced to tend to them by himself. Marco was able to man the biophone to relay information, but couldn't really do much to assist with the actual treatment. Again, at this fire, that was enough, but there were many occasions when Roy and Johnny needed to work in unison if a victim was going to have the best chance for survival.

Dixie noticed who was speaking over the link and frowned slightly. She didn't find out about Kel's call to the Station until it had already been made, but she still let Kel know her opinion that he might have just added fuel to the fire – no pun intended. When she got very quick details from Johnny when he rode in with the victims, she knew that the worst was probably yet to come.

The shift ended without further incident and the men of A Shift left, the five men heading for the diner. As he was driving by, Poole caught sight of Johnny's Rover. A closer look revealed the presence of other cars that he recognized from the station parked not far from the Rover. His blood pressure immediately started rising.

Poole didn't bother to think about how long this group of men had worked together or that they had been meeting after work here and at each other's homes for years. No, he took it as a sign that the men were again going behind his back. He didn't see how Stanley worked with any of this crew that flaunted authority so openly. Well, he'd break them of that.

The rest of the rotation was an absolute killer. The runs really weren't any worse than usual and they began to start adjusting to the change in which man they were teamed with. The trouble was at the station itself. Poole wasn't letting them have any downtime any longer. Beyond adding to the daily tasks lists, he had them doing drills constantly.

It was bad enough that after she heard Roy's voice over the phone, Joanne insisted on driving them all over to the DeSoto home, fed them a mound of toast and scrambled eggs and made them nap before she would drive them back to the station to pick up their various vehicles. She knew how exhausted they all were by the face that not a one of them argued with the plan. Not even the token resistance that they would normally put up about not wanting to inconvenience her.

When he emerged from what Joanne referred to as his coma, Roy wrapped his arms around his wife's waist as he wholeheartedly thanked her for her insistence. He hadn't wanted to ask, but he'd been worried about the possibility of one or more of them falling asleep while driving. She just leaned back against him

"Hey, I've got to take care of the men that watch your back when I'm not there to do it, don't I? I have towels lined up for showers and sandwiches ready in the refrigerator for use as they wake up."

"You're an absolute gem, Jo."

"You bet. And don't think for a moment I won't remind you of that fact periodically, Mr. DeSoto. How much longer until Hank comes back?"

"Two more rotations."

As Dixie had feared though? The worst was yet to come.


	12. Chapter 12

**Part XII**

How things were going to go was evident as soon as the first roll call of the next rotation was over. The assignments were made and within the hour, Poole was starting to administer disciplinary write-ups for substandard performance. Nothing, from the latrine to the way the beds had been made, was up to Poole's standards. Everything had to done, redone and then redone yet again, but he still wouldn't label anything done as satisfactory. It was no surprise to anyone that he was extra-critical of anything the either Roy or Chet had a part of. It was a little rougher on Chet than Roy simply because the squad would get the occasional solo call that would give Roy a little breathing room away from Poole.

The drilling continued as well. By the time the rotation was half-over, the other shifts had noted how worn down the A Shift crew was. The men hadn't been so tired since the brush fire season had ended. Endurance seemed to be their goal now. They supported each other through small glances and smiles, making it through one shift at a time. Joanne had already informed them all that she would be picking them all up again at the end of this rotation as she had the last.

Unknown to all concerned, when the envelope from Mike had reached Chief McConakee hadn't left the inner envelope sealed as intended. He'd opened and read all three men's observations. He knew DeSoto, of course. The man was generally quiet and seemed level-headed, but had proven how passionate he could be when a cause was something he believed in. Even turned down a promotion to remain a paramedic. Mike Stoker. Very quiet, but a well-thought of Engineer who had been at his job a number of years. Not known for idly rocking the boat. Marco Lopez. Nothing in the man's jacket to speak ill of him either.

If these men were ones that he'd never had much contact with, he might have tossed the whole thing into the garbage as being the product of men with a grievance but nothing to base it on. But these were Hank Stanley's boys and he'd kept himself abreast on Hank and his career since the days that he had been Hank's captain. He decided that it wouldn't hurt to do a bit of checking up to see what might be happening down at Station 51.

The first trickles back just sounded like a crew who were too used to their usual captain's way of doing things. But then more details began to drift in and pile up. The report on Kelly's treatment for breathing too many cleaning fumes. The complaint from Dr. Brackett about not getting enough face time with his paramedics. Reports coming in from the other shifts regarding things that they'd heard and seen that began to sound more serious. Yelling. Crew members not being allowed to speak to one another. The most troubling reports were the ones mentioning how worn the crew was looking. Fatigue was an expected part of the job at times, but there hadn't been enough serious calls for that to have been a factor.

The final day of the rotation arrived and it was busy even without Poole adding to their workload. The calls were coming in thick enough that the best the men had been able to manage was to grab a bite or two from a cold sandwich or an apple. Then at around the halfway point, the tones went off for a fire in a factory. Johnny hoped Poole would put him together with Roy as this was not going to be an easy job. No such break though. Johnny and Marco were sent in to do the search in the north end of the building where the flames hadn't reached yet. Roy and Chet were sent in with a line at the south end, where smoke and flames were already starting to cause problems.

Johnny and Marco began bringing victims out and Johnny was relieved to see that another squad had arrived on the scene. It was Craig Brice and his current partner, Bob Belliveau and they had already begun to prep a triage area after receiving word that there were a dozen unaccounted for. As Craig got one victim started on oxygen, Bob gave a Johnny a puzzled look.

"Where's Roy? He's not in there on his own, is he?"

That got a scowl from Johnny, both from the question and from the answer he had to give.

"No. Captain Poole has Roy manning the hose with Chet on the south side."

Bob glanced over to Craig, then looked back to Johnny.

"So. . .? The building's clear, then?"

"Not yet. Come on, Marco."

Heading back into the building, Johnny could feel the puzzled expression of the other two paramedics following them.

Back at the south side, Chet was wary. He had been a lineman long enough to know when something just didn't feel right, whether it was something he could actually see or not. If Marco had been there, he would have known from Chet's body language to be ready to move quickly just in case. While Roy could see that Chet's posture had stiffened, he didn't have the intimate knowledge of working in a fire with Chet to read it correctly. When Johnny's posture stiffened, it meant to stop.

Chet was tired enough that it took him two beats to remember that it wasn't Marco backing him. When he stopped and turned to speak with Roy to tell him his suspicions, they both felt the creaking under their feet at the same time. Chet, already wary of the floor before that, moved quickly enough. Roy didn't.

On the plus side of the equation, only one board gave way, but his left leg losing support sent Roy down hard. On the negative side, there was fire underneath the floor. Chet grabbed the hose back and quickly adjusted the stream to a heavy mist, soaking Roy's leg as much as he was able before abandoning it to break away part of the board that was hanging up on Roy's turnout gear so that they could pull him out.

Even working as fast as he could, Roy's foot gear was smoldering by the time Chet was able to get Roy's leg freed. Roy did a rapid assessment on himself. He could feel liquid running down his leg, but without removing his gear (which he was not about to do in a burning building), he couldn't tell if he was bleeding or if that was from where Chet had drenched his leg. He didn't think it was anything too serious, but he was going to need Chet's help walking out.

While Roy was doing the evaluation, Chet keyed the HT and relayed the incident over as well as the fact that he was about to bring Roy out.

"Negative, Kelly. Maintain position. I'll send a team in for you."

Chet's eyes moved back to the broken area of floor. Fingers of flame were coming up now.

"We're not in a good spot for that. We have fire under our location. We'll be following the hose back."

Chet didn't wait for the response and shoved the HT back on his belt. The heat alone told them that the fire was getting more intense. Reaching down, Chet helped Roy back onto his feet and then positioned himself to support him. The hose had to be abandoned as they made their way out. They both had a bad moment when another section of floor creaked and threatened to give way, but this time luck was with them and they made it back out to open air.

Johnny and Marco had just dropped off a man that needed to be treated for smoke inhalation when Craig informed them that the rest of the previously unaccounted for weren't in the building. In the confusion, it had been forgotten that the others were away from the building attending, ironically enough, a safety meeting.

Looking up from where he was administering oxygen, Bob called out.

"Gage? Isn't that your partner?"

Johnny whirled and saw Roy leaning on Chet – who wasn't looking terribly steady himself. Within seconds, he and Marco were rushing over to them. Johnny grabbed hold of Roy, while Marco took charge of Chet, whose coloration indicated he might be having problems with heat exhaustion. As soon as they reached the triage area, both men were assisted in stripping out of their heavy turnout gear.

Cooler air, water and a little oxygen soon had Chet feeling better. Roy's leg was scraped and bruised but the only burns were around the ankle area. Fortunately, nothing more severe than a first degree burn, though that would be tender enough for awhile.

Craig and Bob were still attending to them when Poole stormed over and suspended both Chet and Roy for a week without pay for disobeying a direct order. The other two paramedics were stunned – especially since what had just happened didn't seem to surprise Chet or Roy at all.

Johnny immediately jumped in.

"Chet already had heat exhaustion and Roy was injured. They needed to get out of there as fast as they could."

"You want to join them on suspension, Gage?"

Mike had heard what was going on and since he wasn't currently needed to keep the water flowing, he moved closer.

"Johnny was just trying to explain why they had to get out when they did, sir."

"One more word out of you, Stoker, and you'll be suspended yourself."

Straightening his shoulders, Mike's cool stare met Poole's heated one.

"Fine."

Poole scowled.

"Anyone else?"

"I'm still here."

"You questioning me as well, Lopez?"

"I am."

"If that's the way you want it. All of you – one week without pay. Effective as soon as this shift ends."

As Poole moved off, Craig cleared his throat. His voice betrayed that he couldn't really believe what he'd just heard.

"Your entire shift just got suspended?"

Roy looked in the direction of Poole's retreating back.

"Looks that way, doesn't it?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Part XIII**

Dr. Brackett insisted that both Roy and Chet needed to come in and be checked over before being released back for duty, but agreed that they didn't need to make the trip in an ambulance. Craig rode in with the last of the civilian victims in the ambulance while Bob drove Chet to Rampart in their squad. Johnny took over driving duties to take Roy in.

The incredulous Brice had already starting filling Dixie in on what happened before the squads arrived. If it had been anybody but Brice, Dixie would have assumed he was exaggerating. The squads arrived then and she quickly had Chet headed for treatment room one with Dr. Early while Roy was put in treatment room two with Brackett. Dixie went into treatment room two, giving Kel an _'I told you so'_ look as she moved over to Roy.

"Poole suspended everyone?"

Johnny broke in before Roy had a chance to answer.

"Do you believe that guy? Did he really expect you guys to just sit in there with the fire eating the floor out from underneath you? I mean, maybe that might have been procedure if you went strictly by the book, but what about a little common sense, for pity's sake?"

Dixie just looked bemused as Johnny finally had to stop for air.

"I take it that was a yes?"

"Yep. First me and Chet for disobeying the order to stay put – then Johnny for coming to our defense. Then Mike and Marco threw in their lot with the rest of us."

Dr. Brackett looked uncomfortable at that.

"Dixie told me that you men might pay the price for me having a talk to him. Why didn't you tell me?"

With a shrug, Roy repositioned himself at Dixie's direction so they could get a better look at the condition of his leg.

"It needed to be said. He switched to other things to punish us, but at least Chet's lungs were safe. While losing a week's pay is going to hurt, Joanne will understand. Just be a lot of rice dishes in my immediate future."

By now, Dixie was fuming.

"That just isn't right. If Captain Poole didn't care for what Kel had to say, he should have taken up with him."

"Yes. He should have."

Johnny jumped up and, if Dixie hadn't been holding his leg down for cleaning, Roy likely would have as well. Chief McConakee was standing at the door, looking in.

"Saw Brice and Belliveau out there and they told me you were in here, DeSoto. How's the leg looking, Dr. Brackett?"

"Some bad scraps, a few burns and some colorful bruising in the works. He'll be sore for a day or two, Chief. I'm ordering a set of x-rays just to make sure there aren't any hairline fractures, but I don't expect to find any."

"Excellent. Do you think he might be able to be released shortly? I need to have a meeting with his shift as soon as possible."

"After I've gotten a look at the negatives, I wouldn't have any problems releasing him to light duty for the rest of the shift, but -"

"I've stood 51 down for the remainder of this shift, Doctor. He can even keep it elevated during the meeting if that's your recommendation."

"It is. In that case - assuming the negatives come back as expected - I'll release him to your care, Chief. Roy? No driving at least for the rest of today."

"Jo is picking all of us up at the end of the shift any way, doc, so that's not a problem."

Dixie looked up from where she was rechecking Roy's pulse rate.

"All five of you?"

While Roy normally would have explained it to Dixie, he didn't feel free to say it in front of the Chief. Not that the Chief wasn't taking note any way as was evident as he spoke.

"Not trusting you men to drive when you're tired, is she?"

Flushing a bit, Roy nodded.

"Yessir."

"Thought that might be it. Good woman you have."

"The best, sir."

"I see the x-ray machine has arrived. I think I'll step next door and see what the verdict is on Kelly."

Without further ado, the Chief was gone from the treatment room as suddenly as he'd come. Roy laid back to await the x-rays, giving a glance over to Johnny as he exited the room.

"I'd feel better if I had any idea if we've still got a job, Junior."

"Two of us, pally. Two of us."

Brice and Belliveau were still waiting for word as Johnny came to grab a cup of coffee to try and get his noisy stomach to shut up.

"How's Roy? They really think anything's broken?"

"He's sore, but the x-rays sound like more of a precaution than anything."

Brice cleared his throat.

"If you guys really are out without pay, let me know. We'll contact all the other stations and help support you guys through it."

Johnny mouth dropped open briefly, but then he gave a smile.

"Well, that's a nice thing to think of, but –"

Bob broke in then.

"No buts. We aren't going on scuttlebutt. We heard what he said to all of you. You shouldn't have to suffer just because he thinks he's the Captain of the Bounty instead of Station 51."

Brice waiting until Johnny finished fixing his coffee.

"Gage? I - do I come across like that?"

Johnny jerked his head up at that question, then shook his head.

"No way, Brice. I mean, I'll be the first to admit that the constant rules can get old quick, but you've never done anything to be malicious to anyone. You like to have things a certain way and I can kinda understand that. Captain Poole - he won't even let us call each other by our first names. Heck, unless it's directly related to the job, we can't even talk to each other any more."

Bob reached over to top off his own cup.

"You mean when you're out on a call?"

"Nope. At all. We've been getting together after the end of the shift at the diner to catch up with each other."

"Man. Must be pretty grim at your station house during your shift."

"Grim barely scratches the surface, Bob."

Brice's HT went off and they gulped down what was left of their coffee.

"Just leave your mugs, guys. I rinse them out for you."

"Appreciate it, Gage. Hey - keep us up to date in what's going on."

"Will do. And thanks."

As Johnny watched the pair head out, he mused to himself that sometimes support could come where you least expected it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Part XIV**

In the waiting area, Johnny had no idea that he'd fallen asleep until Dixie gave him a gentle shake to wake him.

"Up and at 'em, tiger. Kel's just released Chet and Roy. Time to go back to the station."

Scrambling to his feet, Johnny tried hard but failed to stifle a yawn.

"I don't believe I fell asleep. Oh man, what will the Chief think?"

"The Chief thinks that your whole crew will feel better after you get a little solid rest."

McConakee's voice behind him sounded amused.

"You're in no condition to drive, Gage. Toss me the keys. I'll be driving the squad."

"Um. Yessir."

A half-awake, puzzled Gage seemed to be easy for the Chief to read.

"Dr. Brackett's coming with us. He'll be driving DeSoto and Kelly back. Come along."

Johnny just nodded and followed numbly. The figure in the passenger seat of the squad was probably the quietest he'd ever been during a drive. Finally, the Chief spoke up.

"Question for you, Gage. Does Captain Poole generally notice when the squad comes back in?"

"Yessir."

"What does he do?"

"Well - lately, all he does is yell three words."

"Out with it then. What does he yell?"

" Um - DeSoto - Office - Now."

"Really? This should be interesting."

Chief McConakee waited until Dr. Brackett had parked and the three of them had exited the car before he hit the button to open the door and backed the squad into position. Mike was polishing the engine and turned to give a nod to the paramedics, but froze in position when he saw who it was behind the wheel.

The Chief had no more than opened the squad's door when Captain Poole's voice rang out as predicted.

"DeSoto! Office! Now!"

Shooting a glance to Johnny, the Chief spoke softly.

"You had that nailed, Gage. I owe you men breakfast."

As he motioned to Roy to go ahead to the office, Chief McConakee gestured Mike over.

"Stoker. I presume you know where Lopez is. Find him and bring him here to join us."

The shouting began shortly after the door was shut. Dr. Brackett's glower was darkening as Mike and Marco quietly joined them. They were all motioned over to the table by the Chief and sat down to await whatever was coming next.

Once they were all seated, the Chief moved to the door of the office and rapped on it.

"Not now! We're busy in here."

The Chief opened the door at that.

"So I hear. DeSoto? Go join your crew at the table. Captain Poole and I need to have a meeting."

"Yes, Chief."

Roy wasn't going to argue. Standing on his leg in the office wasn't pleasant and he was looking forward to getting back off of it for awhile. Dr. Brackett looked up from where he was checking Mike's blood pressure and directed Roy to go to the couch to stretch his leg out. Again, Roy didn't argue.

Unlike Poole's 'talks' with Roy, the conversation between the Chief and Poole was quiet. They were in there for over half an hour when the door finally opened and Chief McConakee came back out and headed over to the table where the crew were waiting.

"Dr. Brackett?"

"Elevated blood pressure readings and signs of exhaustion. Nothing unexpected."

"Alright, men. You have one more rotation before Stanley returns, right?"

As senior man, the other deferred to Mike to answer the Chief.

"Yessir. Though all of us are currently on suspension."

"Well, I hope no-one planned vacations around that. None of you men are on suspension and I expect to see you all here at the start of your next rotation."

The relief was evident on all five men as they responded in near unison.

"Yessir."

"Fine. I'll be standing in for Stanley on those days, but since I'll be doing my usual job as well from here, I'll expect you to deal with the day to day tasks, Stoker."

"Yes, Chief."

"Any questions? Gage?"

"Just curious, Chief. You were at the hospital about the same time we arrived there?"

"Total coincidence. I wanted to follow up on the bleach incident with Dr. Brackett. I saw Brice and Belliveau – they told me about DeSoto and Kelly being brought in. Brice also told me some of what went on out there in the field, which confirmed some things I've been hearing back from other sources. Suffice it to say that Captain Poole and I have come to the mutual agreement that he simply isn't a good fit with the Los Angeles County Fire Department."

All the heads turned as the first sounds of the next shift crew coming in started to be heard. Roy was just pleased that they wouldn't be having any time alone with Captain Poole. That would have been far too awkward for his liking. As it was, none of them saw Poole. He remained in the office with the door shut.

The normal chatter among the incoming crew died when they saw Chief McConakee was there. Thanking Dr. Brackett for coming out to check on the men, the Chief headed outside with the crew to get out of the way of the incoming shift.

Joanne was waiting in the car outside and wasn't sure which sight worried her more – the Chief and Dr. Brackett being there or her husband's limp. Considering she was seeing some genuine looking smiles back on the guys' faces, she decided not to worry too much about any of it. She was bound to get the details over the scrambled eggs this morning.

Even though all of the guys were a bit nervous about being under Chief McConakee's direct command, they also all agreed it would have to be an improvement over Poole. And it was. With Mike overseeing most of the minor aspects of the shift, things quickly reverted back to their usual behaviors and patterns. McConakee found his initial opinion of Hanks' boys was confirmed by his interactions with them on runs. They were a good crew. An odd sense of humor among some of them, to be sure, but as a group on the job? They were solid as a rock.

When the beginning of the next rotation brought back Captain Stanley, he was shocked to find Chief McConakee there to pass the shift back over to him. Mike smiled faintly as he read the expression on Cap's face as _'what on Earth did you twits do while I was gone?'_

After roll call, the Chief and Captain Stanley disappeared into his office for almost an hour. After the Chief left, Cap called the men together.

"Chief tells me you guys had a memorable time yourselves while I was gone."

He slowly looked from one man to another, particularly lingering over Roy and Chet.

"Everyone alright?"

They all exchanged looks that morphed into smiles. Mike spoke up.

"I think we're all good now. Welcome back, Cap."

That shift was like putting back on a comfortable old shoe after being forced to wear new dress shoes for awhile. The next shift began with the once-familiar sound of a splash as a water balloon exploded. Roy's head went forward to rest against his locker door. _Here we go again_.

"Kelly! Darn you, I don't have another clean shirt with me."

"Sure you do, Gage. See the box at the end of the bench?"

Puzzled, Johnny went over to the box and opened it. Still neatly covered in the plastic from the cleaners were his uniform tops and pants that he had been intending to drop off after the shift ended.

"Okay, Chet. You've lost me. What's this about?"

Chet just shrugged a little.

"The uniforms, well - I sort of just wanted to say thanks for taking me to the hospital. Brackett said that could have been bad if I'd just let it go."

"And the water balloon?"

Another shrug.

"Just getting things back to normal around here."

"That normal I could live without."

"Yeah, yeah. Just leave the wet stuff by my locker. I'll take care of it after work."

Johnny just watched as Chet wandered off, then began unbuttoning his wet shirt as he looked back to Roy.

"I will never understand that guy."

"He'll probably never understand you either, Junior."

"Hey! What's so hard to understand about me? It's not like I'm -"

As Johnny started to get wound up on what promised to be a lengthy monologue directed at his partner, Hank just chuckled to himself from where he'd been leaning and listening. The guys were back to normal – well, as normal as they got. Heading back to his office, he chuckled again.

"Twits."


End file.
